Kris Inchcombe of St. Augustine, Fla. told The Post he bought a helmet in 2006 worn by Manning in his rookie year for $8,500. "Now I'm just questioning the authenticity," he said. "If somebody took my money and told me something that they portrayed to be one way and it wasn't -- that's theft. That's stealing."

The lawsuit filed earlier this week mentioned a signed helmet from 2004 that "falsely [claimed]" it was used during Manning's first year.

A source who used to work for Steiner Sports told The Post "from Eli we would see [items] and say, 'Come on, this is not 'game used.'"